for PARLIAMENTARIAN Christopher T. Nace Paulson & Nace, PLLC

Candidate Statement

It is a true honor to be your candidate for the office of Parliamentarian of the American Association for Justice. Thank you for putting your trust in me.

My first convention was in Seattle, Washington, in 1986. Going to the ATLA Convention became a summer highlight. I made many close friends and met many of my parents’ friends. I had the opportunity to listen to some of the stalwarts of our organization talk about the importance of what trial lawyers do, about our mission to keep our families safe.

Once an attorney member, I dove into AAJ headfirst. I have served as Chair of the New Lawyers Division; Chair of the Membership Oversight Committee; Chair of the Audit Committee; Chair of the Compliance Committee; a member of the PAC Board of Trustees, Organizational Review Committee, National Finance Council; the National College of Advocacy; and countless other committees. I have been an elected member of the Executive Committee for several years.

I have had the honor to serve as president of the Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, DC, and now serve as that organization’s Legislative Chair. I have also served as president of the National Civil Justice Institute, formerly the Pound Institute, and have been a member of the Board of the Public Justice Foundation since 2008. As an officer of AAJ, I will lean on these experiences to serve you.

More importantly, I have served with many wonderful and diverse leaders. I have watched the unique ways our past presidents and other leaders have fought for our members and our clients. I have seen our leaders develop new and important programs, such as the Evergreen Fund and the Firm Pledge to Act. Your past presidents have given so much to AAJ; they have inspired me to do more and do better.

I have also had so many wonderful chances to work with our world-class staff. The commitment and dedication they show to our mission is inspiring.

Of course, no leader has influenced me more than my father, Barry Nace. I was fortunate to spend 15 years working with him and trying cases with him. I learned so much in those years, perhaps nothing as important as being tough and fighting for our clients. And that we can never give up and never give in.

Without trial lawyers, the civil justice system is an empty threat. Trial lawyers put the teeth into the system. As trial lawyers, we speak for those who have been silenced. We do so with passion; with integrity; and with vigor. Our burden is to be stronger for others than sometimes we are for ourselves. And it is a burden that is an honor to carry.

As your Parliamentarian, I intend to fight for you, our members, with the same passion, vigor, and integrity with which I fight for our clients. And I will do the same for our clients and the civil justice system.

The world needs a strong civil justice system and an army of trial lawyers educated, motivated, and equipped to hold wrongdoers accountable.

Whether it is through our extraordinary education, the Exchange, our sections and litigation groups and caucuses, our meetings and conventions, or our second-to-none advocacy team, each and every trial lawyer in America benefits from our association.

As an officer, I hope to be an advocate for AAJ; an advocate for our members; an advocate for the civil justice system. I believe that AAJ will continue to be THE Association for Trial Lawyers because I believe in our mission, I believe in our leaders, I believe in our team, and I believe in our members. 

Education

Georgetown University (B.A. 1998); Emory University School of Law (J.D. 2003); Emory University Goizueta Business School (M.B.A. 2003).

Leadership Activities & Honors/Awards

AAJ Executive Committee NLD Representative 2013-2014; Appointed Member 2018-2019, Board of Governors Representative 2019-2023; AAJ Board of Governors 2012-present; AAJ PAC Board of Trustees 2013-present; AAJ PAC Task Force 2009-2020; AAJ Audit Committee member 2018-present, Chair 2019-2023; Compliance Committee 2014-2018, Chair 2015-2017; AAJ Council of Presidents 2016-2019 (while President-Elect, President, and Immediate Past President of Trial Lawyers Association of Washington, D.C.); Diversity and Inclusion Committee 2010-2016; AAJ Evergreen Fund Advisory Board 2016-2023; Justice List Committee 2009-2012; Litigation Group Leaders Council 2021-present; Medical Record Retrieval Litigation Group Cochair 2021-present; Membership Oversight Committee Chair 2011-2013, member 2009-13; National College of Advocacy Board of Trustees 2018-2023; National Finance Council 2011-2023; New Lawyers Division 2007-2015, Chair 2012-2013; Organization Review Committee 2017-2023; Public Affairs Committee 2009-present; Sole Practitioner and Small Firm Section Officers Parliamentarian 2019-2020, Secretary 2021-2022, Vice Chair 2022-2023; Sole Practitioner/Small Firm Membership Liaison 2020-2021; Trial Lawyers Care Committee 2013-2022. Joe Tonahill Award (2019); Howard Twiggs Award (2021); Pro Bono Award (2022); Distinguished Service (2010, 2013, 2018, 2019): Wiedemann & Wysocki Award (2011, 2020); Certificate of Recognition (2020); Above and Beyond (2012, 2017); Key Person Committee 2009-2013; Legal Affairs Committee 2016-present.